I admit it: I do it. When I’m on the road and I hear the chime that I have a new text message, I dig my phone out of my pocket to see what it is, and, just as often, I send one back.
I know I probably shouldn’t, I know it could be dangerous, but safety always seems to go out the window when I need to tell a friend where we can meet for lunch or how much I hate “Boom Boom Pow.” It’s urgent business, after all.
Research shows I’m not alone. According to a 2008 study compiled by Nationwide Insurance, 20 percent of drivers sent or received text messages while driving, a number that jumps to a staggering 66 percent for drivers aged 18 to 24.
But, as is increasingly the case these days, when we’re not smart enough for our own good, the government is here to step in and save us from ourselves. According to an article in the New York Times, the U.S. Senate is debating legislation that will essentially force states to ban texting while driving. It will accomplish this by withholding federal highway funds from states until they adopt some form of texting legislation, much in the same way they pressured states to raise the minimum drinking age to 21 in 1984.
There is no question diverting your attention from the road while driving is dangerous. A British study conducted by the Transport Research Laboratory shows reaction time for those who text behind the wheel slowed an average of 35 percent, compared with 12 percent for users under the influence of alcohol at the legal limit.
For people with touch-screen phones, the potential for disaster is even higher, since the lack of physical keys means they must look at their phone to enter a message, removing their eyes from oncoming traffic entirely for seconds at a time.
Fine.
The numbers are compelling. Furthermore, I’d be willing to bet that a large number of the people who text while driving would admit it is an unsafe habit, but federal legislation is not the answer for several reasons.
The proposed law will be very difficult to enforce, as an effective method of policing would-be cellular lawbreakers has not yet been developed. In fact, the Governor’s Highway Safety Association, who represents highway safety agencies in every state and opposes texting while driving, does not support the bill for that very reason.
In many versions of the ban proposed in the wake of this bill, exceptions are being made for on-duty police officers. If the statistics are as overwhelming as they appear to be, why would anyone, even a police officer, be immune to the effects of taking their eyes off the road?
Most important is the fact that regulation of roadways is governed almost universally at the state level. By trying to strong-arm state governments into adopting a unilateral policy like this, Capitol Hill is depriving the states of their rights to govern their highways as they see fit, or to seek alternative solutions to the problem, such as increased education and raising awareness of the danger.
It seems as though it may already be too late. Fourteen states have already outlawed texting while driving, and Texas has already passed a ban on use of cell phones in school zones. Just last week, the city of Austin approved a resolution to draft legislation to ban texting while driving within the city limits.
So, very soon, ‘click it or ticket’ will soon not only refer to your seatbelt, but also the power button on your cell phone. And, unless you want to cough up a few hundred bucks, you had better think twice before you LOL behind the wheel.